My lord, spare his life!

Because he couldn't fit everything, Zhang Yang took out one of each item, and even so, the pile was still huge, making the already small space feel cramped. Guan Zong was stunned, seemingly never expecting this group to be so wealthy!

He didn't even care about being cold.

With eyes shining, he took seven or eight quick steps forward.

"These...these are all yours?"

There were a lot of items, some with rather strange uses, but that didn't matter. Unusable finished products could be disassembled and recycled! They might come in handy at a crucial moment. Little did Guan Zong know that this was exactly the reason players were hoarding these items.

Even though it's not very useful now, what if it happens?

What if we need to use it for some task in the future?

Anyway, there are plenty of compartments, so leaving them there won't cause any problems.

Zhang Yang nodded: "Yes."

Guan Zong laboriously dragged the large iron pot out of the pile. He estimated it to weigh over seven pounds, and it was made of thick, sturdy material. It was clearly a fine pot that could be passed down through three generations, remaining even after the owner's death: "This pot, with these materials, would be perfect for starting fires in the army!"

You should know that iron pots are a scarce resource.

In most areas, cooking still primarily involved boiling, with stir-frying becoming common only in a few iron-rich regions. While iron ore reserves were not scarce, the vast majority of these resources were monopolized and used for weapon forging, leaving very little iron for the general population.

Iron pots, even if not used for cooking, can be melted down to forge weapons.

Guan Zong put down the iron pot and pulled out an iron shovel.

The shovel had a unique design, seemingly suitable for various outdoor scenarios. Looking at its thick, unusual paint, it was clearly a high-quality shovel that wouldn't easily rust. Guan Zong marveled at it, stroking it repeatedly before reluctantly putting it aside to continue his Taobao shopping spree.

"The lord's wealth is truly beyond the reach of ordinary people." This statement was not made by Fan You, but by Puyang Kui.

Fan You and Zhang Yang both turned their gazes toward them.

The former is complexity, the latter is curiosity.

Zhang Yang was indeed very curious. She had previously asked Puyang Kui to lend her some men to bolster her image, and while Puyang Kui had verbally agreed, he still addressed her as "Lord Boyuan." Why had he suddenly changed his address this time, mimicking Fan You and calling her "Lord"?

Fan You knew the answer.

They are incredibly wealthy!

In times of scarcity, money couldn't buy everything here. With a little effort, establishing a foothold in Tianyue was much easier than expected. Even without Puyang Kui's support, Zhang Yang could use these resources as leverage to get manpower and set up a makeshift operation. Every beginning is difficult; once you take the first step, the rest will be smooth sailing.

In contrast, the Puyang governor was different.

Puyang Kui lost her command, and her former subordinates were either absorbed into Qin Huang's forces or slaughtered by Xie Shu and others, leaving her power fragmented. While those who follow her now are fiercely loyal, their numbers are too few. Furthermore, although Tianyue is her ancestral home, her ancestors had long since moved elsewhere, and Puyang Kui herself probably doesn't even know how much of the local resources she can still mobilize.

There are local bullies in Tianyue too. Puyang Kui, who went out to develop her career a long time ago, has come back to compete with them for resources. How could the local bullies easily give in? Even if Puyang Kui has the ability to rise to prominence, she will inevitably suffer some hardships before she can develop her career.

But she could have avoided this situation by changing her strategy.

By temporarily aligning herself with Zhang Yang, she could share a vast amount of resources and avoid countless detours. In contrast, the price Puyang Kui would have to pay was minimal; she didn't even bear the burden of the Fiendish Stars, and parting ways in the future wouldn't be too troublesome. Even if Fan You were her, she would change her tune.

Zhang Yang: "You're the first person to say I'm wealthy."

The homestead title is not a burden for other players, but she has to work hard for many years. Her game backpack doesn't have any valuable orange game items or any cosmetic items that sell for exorbitant prices. All she has is a bunch of white items dropped by monsters.

And yet, the NPC actually said that he was "rich in wealth".

A subtle sense of pleasure and joy rose within her.

The economic systems for players and NPCs are indeed different.

Speaking of this, Zhang Yang remembered that gold could also circulate among NPCs—the atmosphere was already quite heated, so why not add fuel to the fire and let her experience the joy of being a tycoon! She took out seven or eight super-large, gleaming gold bricks from her game inventory.

These gold bars weren't her weapons. The post-apocalyptic wasteland was still unstable, and the uses and value of gold were far less than before, making them easy to collect. Some were ordinary gold bars made by melting down gold she collected while active in the occupied territories, some were acquired at low prices from other players, and the rest were mined from gold mines she discovered.

The game's world is extremely vast.

Sixteen years of game updates have seen the developers constantly trying to add new gameplay elements, including mining. Zhang Yang suspected his backend data had some hidden attributes, as he was always ranked number one in mining events. He could just pull out a game shovel and dig up ore with ease.

Over time, I accumulated quite a bit.

Zhang Yang also plans to save up for seven or eight years to build a small golden house in his home! Every single brick must be a gleaming gold brick!

Guan Zong's mouth gaped open: "Which country's treasury did you rob?"

Zhang Yang said, "That's really rude!"

These all came from legitimate sources.

Fan You picked up a gold brick, examined its quality, and said, "This gold brick couldn't possibly be from any country's treasury; they don't have that kind of craftsmanship."

Ordinary smelting techniques cannot produce gold of such purity.

Unless there is some breakthrough.

Fan You mentally processed the information he had just gathered and silently added a note to Zhang Yang's background: "Judging from the iron pot, iron shovel, and gold brick, she must have come from a place with highly advanced and mature smelting technology, and a place where war was extremely fierce!"

Otherwise, they wouldn't be able to use corpses as fuel for heating.

Fan You pondered the regions he already knew.

I really can't think of any place that meets these conditions.

Puyang Kui also smiled and said, "A few years ago, I received two pieces of gold from a friend that were said to be pure gold without any impurities. I made a pair of armlets, but the color wasn't this dazzling. My lord, put them away. Now is not the time to put them to use."

The people present seemed reliable enough, but secrets don't stay hidden forever. It wouldn't be good if the news leaked and attracted malicious intent. As Puyang Kui spoke, he gave Guan Zong a meaningful glance.

Guan Zong reluctantly put it down, his gaze lingering on it, and earnestly advised, "As the saying goes, 'Don't flaunt your wealth,' my lord. You must be more careful in your future actions. If bad people find out, it wouldn't be good to end up dying before you even get started..."

"If you know, then know. If you're capable, then come and rob me. If you're not, then leave your life behind." Those who dare to show their strength are either young people who lack experience in the underworld and are unaware of the wickedness of human nature, or ruthless characters who have extremely strong confidence in their abilities. Zhang Yang considers himself to belong to the latter. "I've killed far more people than any villain has ever eaten salt."

Zhang Yang looked at the top of Guan Zong's head.

"Give it a try if you dare."